This invention relates to a method for adhering holograms to textile wearing apparel and, more particularly, to such a method which firmly adheres holograms to wearing apparel and protects the holograms from moisture and scuffing even after being subjected to repeated washing and drying cycles.
Holography is a three-dimensional imaging technique utilized to produce holograms. Holograms became practical in 1962 with the advent of the laser which provided a source of coherent (single wavelength) light necessary for the recording of dimensional information. To create a hologram, the laser light is split into two beams: one illuminates the object being shot (object beam) and the other illuminates the film plate onto which the hologram will be recorded (reference beam). When the object beam reflects from the object to the film plate, an interference pattern, much like the colliding ripples in a pond, occurs. This microscopic interference pattern is formed of light and dark places; when re-illuminated properly, it will reconstruct a three-dimensional image of the object appearing in its original position. An embossed hologram is created by transferring the interference pattern onto a plastic film. Typically, holograms are printed onto thin (2 mil) plastic such as mylar film which is aluminized to increase reflectivity. Holograms thus provide dramatic asthetic and ornamental effects in combining, for example, the brilliant colors of two dimensions in the foreground with a detailed three dimensional background.
In the past, holograms have been utilized in packaged product premiums, greeting cards, magazine covers and the like. Efforts have also been made to apply holograms to textile wearing apparel such as T-shirts, sweatshirts, caps/headgear and the like. Such efforts have, however, been unsuccessful and it has been found that the holograms would not adhere firmly to textile materials and/or would tend to peel away from such materials after the latter are subjected to conventional machine washing and drying cycles.
There has been an unfulfilled need, therefore, for an improved method for adhering holograms to textile wearing apparel so that the holograms remain firmly adhered to the apparel and remain capable of sustaining many machine washing and drying cycles.